Best Precious Metals IRA Companies (2023)

What is a Precious Metals IRA?

“Precious metals IRA” is an umbrella term that includes the gold IRA, silver IRA, and all other types of tangible metal IRA investments.

Precious metals IRAs are a type of self-directed IRA.

Self-directed IRAs are a type of investment option that ventures beyond traditional types of assets into things like precious metals, cryptocurrency, real estate, and more.

These investments come with virtually all of the same features as a regular IRA.

Precious metals IRAs are especially popular for retirement plans because metals like gold, silver, and palladium tend to increase in value as time passes.

Physical gold and other metals have a solid and unfluctuating quality, especially compared to the stock market, that’s very appealing for people looking for stable investments.

These IRAs tend to provide insurance against the volatility of other investments.

This doesn’t mean they don’t come without some volatility of their own, but that’s the nature of most investments.

No trustworthy financial expert or advisor would recommend investing completely in precious metals IRAs, but they’re an excellent way to diversify your portfolio and hold value.

How to Open a Precious Metals IRA

Now that you have some background on precious metals IRAs, here’s how you can get started with actually opening one.

Choose an IRA Custodian

Your IRA is held by a “custodian,” which can include individual financial advisors, banks, trust companies, and any other entities as long as they’re approved by the IRS.

Precious metals IRA custodians are “self-directed,” since precious metals are an alternative asset.

They’re experts in precious metals investing and will be there to answer any questions you have throughout the entire process of owning a precious metals IRA.

Buy Your Precious Metals

It’s highly possible your IRA custodian already has connections to precious metals resources.

For example, you can purchase gold, silver, platinum, and more directly from the IRA companies I’ve included in this list.

Otherwise, do your research before purchasing precious metals from just anyone.

Make sure your dealer belongs to groups like the ANA (American Numismatic Association), ICTA (Industry Council for Tangible Assets), and other industry-verified organizations.

Choose a Depository

Precious metals must be stored in an approved depository.

This means you can’t store your precious metals IRA yourself.

IRA approval ensures legitimacy and maximum security for your tangible assets.

You can either go with a recommendation from your custodian or do research and choose one yourself.

Complete the Process

Completing the process is the final step of opening a precious metals IRA.

It’ll be mostly handled by your custodian, who will execute the payments.

Then, your dealer will ship your metals to the depository.

Often, you can ask for some form of proof that your metals are entering the depository so that the transaction feels more complete.

Popular Types of Precious Metal IRAs

Gold IRAs

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold gold as a retirement investment.

Individuals with gold IRAs can hold gold bars, gold coins, or other forms such as the gold bullion.

Investments also include ETFs (exchange-traded funds), stocks in gold mining companies, mutual funds for precious metals, and commodity futures.

These IRAs are held separately from traditional retirement accounts, and they’re opened through custodians, brokers, and dealers.

The gold you invest in must be 99.5% pure to qualify as a gold IRA.

Silver IRAs

A silver IRA is essentially the same thing as a gold IRA except with silver coins, bars, etc. instead of gold.

Silver is an essential element in the creation process of many products, so it’s unlikely to lose its value.

It’s actually outperformed gold during times of high demand for precious metals.

Precious Metal IRA Benefits

Diversity

Diversity in an investment portfolio means that you’re lowering your risk of bankruptcy by spreading your money out.

A diversified portfolio will have money spread across multiple asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, cash, land, precious metals, and cryptocurrency.

Diversification is a number one recommendation among most financial advisors when it comes to maintaining growth potential and weathering the market.

Safety

Gold, silver, and other precious metals have always held a tangible quality that feels safe to investors.

The same can’t be said about other paper assets, stocks, and bonds.

Physical metals can never be worth zero or go out of business.

They’re also not as subject to inflation and deflation as paper assets, normally moving in the opposite direction.

This makes them a solid currency hedge for investors looking for extra insurance.

Tax Benefits

With a Self-Directed Precious Metals IRA, you will enjoy the same incredible tax advantages as with traditional IRAs.

Moreover, depending on your income bracket, contributions to this type of account may be utilized as a way to reduce your taxable income.

AKA, you can potentially claim them as tax-deductible.

By investing in gold within an IRA, you will not be taxed until the cash is distributed to you. Then, taxes are imposed at your current marginal rate.

Long Term Holdings

Because precious metals aren’t as subject to inflation, they have the potential to be held for a long time. Generations, even.

Long-term investments almost always offer more gains than short-term ones.

And precious metals are notorious for increasing value over super-prolonged periods.

However, precious metals IRAs also usually offer flexibility to sell or participate in a buy-back program if needed.

Growth Potential

Standard IRA accounts are generally associated with a certain range of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that can be directly impacted by the economy.

When economic downturns occur, these accounts may suffer greatly as a result.

During such conditions, however, precious metals like gold and silver often act as safe havens for investment.

This will increase their profit potential exponentially when compared to other assets during turbulent times.

Gold and other precious metals’ returns have been primarily positive and surpassed inflation over various time periods.

Precious Metal IRA Risks

Physical Precious Metals Volatility

The quality of precious metal investment largely depends on unpredictable market forces like supply and demand, international markets, inflation, and general economic expectations.

Like other investments, it’s nearly impossible to predict the state of these factors with certainty.

Prices of precious metals can rise and fall over time, and for the most part, there’s not much we as investors can do.

This is why a diversified portfolio is essential.

Conclusion

Precious metals can be a solid investment when planning for retirement and a more secure future.

I hope these companies I recommended give you a promising next step in your IRA journey.

Good luck, and happy investing!